{"id":8930,"date":"2009-07-30T23:34:13","date_gmt":"2009-07-30T18:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/?p=8930"},"modified":"2026-10-06T14:35:27","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T09:05:27","slug":"free-file-format-conversion-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/07\/free-file-format-conversion-online\/","title":{"rendered":"Best Free Online File Converters in 2026 (PDF, Image, Video &#038; More)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Need to turn a PDF into Word, a HEIC photo into JPG, or a video into MP3? A <strong>free online file converter<\/strong> does it in your browser, with nothing to install. Many of the 28 tools in our original 2009 list have since shut down, so we&#8217;ve rebuilt it for 2026 with the converters that still work well, grouped by file type, plus free desktop apps for big or private files.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-63237\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/free-online-file-converter.webp\" alt=\"Best free online file converter tools 2026\" width=\"1200\" height=\"630\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/free-online-file-converter.webp 1200w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/free-online-file-converter-300x158.webp 300w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/free-online-file-converter-1024x538.webp 1024w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/free-online-file-converter-150x79.webp 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/free-online-file-converter-768x403.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Quick answer:<\/strong> For almost any format, use <strong>CloudConvert<\/strong>, <strong>FreeConvert<\/strong> or <strong>Zamzar<\/strong>. For PDFs, use <strong>iLovePDF<\/strong> or <strong>PDF24<\/strong>. For images, Google&#8217;s <strong>Squoosh<\/strong> is excellent. For large or private files, use free desktop apps like <strong>HandBrake<\/strong> (video) and <strong>LibreOffice<\/strong> (documents).<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_89 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6aee4395c01ab\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"ez-toc-cssicon\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #1a202c;color:#1a202c\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6aee4395c01ab\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/07\/free-file-format-conversion-online\/#Best_all-in-one_free_online_file_converters\" >Best all-in-one free online file converters<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/07\/free-file-format-conversion-online\/#Free_PDF_converters\" >Free PDF converters<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/07\/free-file-format-conversion-online\/#Free_image_converters\" >Free image converters<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/07\/free-file-format-conversion-online\/#Free_video_and_audio_converters\" >Free video and audio converters<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/07\/free-file-format-conversion-online\/#Free_document_and_e-book_converters\" >Free document and e-book converters<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/07\/free-file-format-conversion-online\/#Is_it_safe_to_use_a_free_online_file_converter\" >Is it safe to use a free online file converter?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/07\/free-file-format-conversion-online\/#Frequently_asked_questions\" >Frequently asked questions<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/07\/free-file-format-conversion-online\/#What_is_the_best_free_online_file_converter\" >What is the best free online file converter?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/07\/free-file-format-conversion-online\/#Can_I_convert_files_without_uploading_them\" >Can I convert files without uploading them?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2009\/07\/free-file-format-conversion-online\/#How_do_I_convert_a_PDF_to_Word_for_free\" >How do I convert a PDF to Word for free?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Best_all-in-one_free_online_file_converters\"><\/span>Best all-in-one free online file converters<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-44858\" src=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/file-convert.png\" alt=\"Free online file converter\" width=\"600\" height=\"160\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/file-convert.png 600w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/file-convert-150x40.png 150w, https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-content\/uploads\/file-convert-300x80.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>These handle hundreds of formats (documents, images, audio, video, e-books and archives) in one place. Free limits change often, so the figures below are a guide at the time of writing.<\/p>\n<table>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Converter<\/th>\n<th>Free limit (approx.)<\/th>\n<th>Best for<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/cloudconvert.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CloudConvert<\/a><\/td>\n<td>About 25 conversions a day<\/td>\n<td>Quality and control, Google Drive and Dropbox import<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.freeconvert.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">FreeConvert<\/a><\/td>\n<td>Files up to about 1 GB<\/td>\n<td>Large video files, batch conversion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zamzar.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Zamzar<\/a><\/td>\n<td>Files up to about 50 MB, a few per hour<\/td>\n<td>Over 1,000 formats, including old ones (online since 2006)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/convertio.co\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Convertio<\/a><\/td>\n<td>Files up to about 100 MB<\/td>\n<td>OCR (scanned PDF to editable text)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><a href=\"https:\/\/www.online-convert.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Online-Convert<\/a><\/td>\n<td>Files up to about 100 MB<\/td>\n<td>Detailed audio, video and image settings<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Free_PDF_converters\"><\/span>Free PDF converters<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ilovepdf.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">iLovePDF<\/a><\/strong>: PDF to Word, Excel, PowerPoint and JPG and back, plus merge, split and compress.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/tools.pdf24.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">PDF24 Tools<\/a><\/strong>: completely free, no limits or sign-up, with a free Windows app for offline use.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/smallpdf.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Smallpdf<\/a><\/strong> and <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.adobe.com\/acrobat\/online.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Adobe Acrobat online<\/a><\/strong>: polished converters with a few free conversions a day.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Microsoft Word and <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Google Docs<\/a><\/strong>: both can open PDFs and save them as editable documents, and save any document as PDF (File \u2192 Download \u2192 PDF).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Free_image_converters\"><\/span>Free image converters<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/squoosh.app\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Squoosh<\/a><\/strong>: Google&#8217;s free image tool converts between JPG, PNG, WebP and AVIF and shrinks file size, all inside your browser, so images aren&#8217;t uploaded anywhere.<\/li>\n<li><strong>HEIC to JPG:<\/strong> iPhone photos open in Windows Photos with the free <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.microsoft.com\/detail\/9pmmsr1cgpwg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HEIF Image Extension<\/a>, or convert them with CloudConvert or FreeConvert.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Built-in apps:<\/strong> Paint on Windows and Preview on Mac can &#8220;Save As&#8221; or &#8220;Export&#8221; to other image formats.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/vectormagic.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vector Magic<\/a><\/strong>: still the go-to for turning a bitmap logo into a clean vector (paid, with a free trial).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Free_video_and_audio_converters\"><\/span>Free video and audio converters<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>FreeConvert<\/strong> and <strong>CloudConvert<\/strong>: convert MOV, MKV, AVI and WebM to MP4, or extract MP3 audio from a video file.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/handbrake.fr\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HandBrake<\/a><\/strong>: a free, open-source desktop app for Windows, Mac and Linux. It&#8217;s the best choice for large videos, with no upload or size limit.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.videolan.org\/vlc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">VLC media player<\/a><\/strong>: its Media \u2192 Convert\/Save option converts video and audio for free.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Converting videos downloaded from YouTube or other sites can break their terms and copyright rules. Only convert files you own or have permission to use.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Free_document_and_e-book_converters\"><\/span>Free document and e-book converters<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.libreoffice.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">LibreOffice<\/a><\/strong>: a free office suite that opens and saves Word, Excel, PowerPoint, ODT and PDF files offline.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/calibre-ebook.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Calibre<\/a><\/strong>: free e-book manager that converts between EPUB, MOBI, AZW3 and PDF.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Google <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.google.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Docs<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/sheets.google.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sheets<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/slides.google.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Slides<\/a><\/strong>: upload an Office file, then download it in another format.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_it_safe_to_use_a_free_online_file_converter\"><\/span>Is it safe to use a free online file converter?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Online converters upload your file to their servers. Reputable ones delete files after a few hours, but:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Don&#8217;t upload sensitive files<\/strong> like bank statements, ID cards, contracts or medical records. Use a desktop app (LibreOffice, PDF24 for Windows, HandBrake) or a browser-only tool like Squoosh instead.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Watch out for fake download buttons<\/strong> and ads on less-known converter sites.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Avoid sites that ask you to install an extension<\/strong> or &#8220;download converter software&#8221; just to get your file.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Need to find where an image came from before converting it? Try these <a href=\"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/2008\/01\/find-best-photo-image-search-engines-online\/\">reverse image search engines<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Frequently_asked_questions\"><\/span>Frequently asked questions<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_the_best_free_online_file_converter\"><\/span>What is the best free online file converter?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>CloudConvert is the best all-rounder for quality and formats. FreeConvert is better for very large files, and Zamzar covers the most formats, including old ones.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Can_I_convert_files_without_uploading_them\"><\/span>Can I convert files without uploading them?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Yes. Squoosh converts images in your browser without uploading them, and desktop apps like LibreOffice, HandBrake and Calibre work completely offline.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_do_I_convert_a_PDF_to_Word_for_free\"><\/span>How do I convert a PDF to Word for free?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Upload it to iLovePDF or PDF24 and choose PDF to Word, or open the PDF directly in Microsoft Word or Google Docs and save it as a document.<\/p>\n<p><em>This list was first written for QOT in 2009 by guest author Srikanth, and has been fully updated for 2026.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Need to turn a PDF into Word, a HEIC photo into JPG, or a video into MP3? A free online&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":63237,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[44],"class_list":["post-8930","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tips","tag-guest-posts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8930","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8930"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8930\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":63240,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8930\/revisions\/63240"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/63237"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8930"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8930"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.quickonlinetips.com\/archives\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8930"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}